Damaged Angels
by silverfang493
Summary: Shadow Eclipse, more commonly known as Eclipse had never seen the point in making friends. The way she saw it, she had her sister and that was all she needed. Life in the Crystal Empire was fine, until King Sombra took over and made her go on a mission that required flying across Equestria. The pegasus did as she was told for once, but never expected she would grow attached to them
1. Prologue

**Please don't judge me for this story. I realized that it's been a month and a half since I posted a story, so I figured why not. My little sister wanted me to watch MLP with her and I did, but then she wanted to create a character. Since I hate having characters without a backstory, I created one and started writing it down. That's what this is. This story takes place before the show, before the crystal empire got banished, before Luna became Nightmare Moon. It's set mostly in the Castle of The Two Sisters. Anyways...**

 **To the story!**

 **Prologue**

" **The same hammer that shatters glass forges steel."**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

"I don't think I can do this Icy." I confessed to my sister, my eyes locked on my pillow.

She shifted, causing the bed to move and making me lean to the right to avoid her tail as she swept it back and forth in annoyance. "What makes you think that?" she snapped, after a long silence.

I changed my position so she wouldn't crush my wing and looked at her. "I don't think I can even make it all the way to the castle. My wing still isn't completely healed."

Her blood red eyes bored into my golden ones. "You _have_ to make it. You don't have a choice." She levitated a glass of water toward me, her horn glowing a dark blue.

"You know what father will do to us if you don't." she added in a quiet voice, her now dark and brooding eyes cast toward the ground.

Anger surged through me. "I don't care!" I yelled, knocking the water to the ground. I flinched as the sound of glass shattering filtered in through the muted haze I'd been in for the past few days.

Tears gathered in my eyes and I grit my teeth in an attempt to stop them from spilling out. "He's always liked you better anyway. He won't do anything to you."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do! You're the perfect one, just because you were born a unicorn and I wasn't!" I got up and stormed out of the house, my hooves clomping angrily against the crystal streets. I'd never told my sister that I slightly resented her because she was a unicorn and I was a pegasus. I'd never felt the need to.

The only reason I resented her as a unicorn was probably because our father had always liked her better due to this and treated her like a princess.

I scowled, continuing through the Crystal Empire, along the pristine the streets, watching as chained ponies walked by, their heads down. A suppressed desire suddenly bloomed in my chest and I changed direction, going towards the holding cells.

The guards moved away as I neared, their eyes flashing with fear. I ignored them, walking with a purpose. Cells lined the walls. Multiple ponies raised their heads when they heard my hoofsteps, but went pretended to be asleep when they realized who I was. I went toward one cell in particular.

A blue furred mare with with a curly pinkish purple mane and blue eyes looked up, then gasped and smiled, getting up and rushing towards the bars of her cell. "Eclipse!"

I smiled at her. "Hello mother."

She reached out a hoof and I took it, knowing that she didn't get visitors. Icy never bothered to come by.

"You haven't visited in a long time." my mother said, letting go of my hoof and staring at me sadly. Her eyes went from sky blue to dark pools of sorrow.

I flinched. "I know. I'm sorry. Father's been prepping me for my... mission."

"Ah.. he's still planning to send you, then." Winnow Wind replied, once again reaching out and brushing strands of my mane out of my face. "And how does your sister feel about this?"

A flash of anger went through me and I bit my lip. "Does her opinion matter? _She's_ not the one who has to fly across the land and-"

My mother cut me off by pressing a hoof to my mouth. "Shh.. I'm sorry, you're right. But you shouldn't say what you have to do out loud. There could be spies."

I sighed and stood up. "You're right mother. I was originally headed to the palace though. I should probably get going."

"Come see me again before you have to leave." she said, backing towards the corner she slept in.

"I will." I promised, before turning and walking out of the dimly lit building. A twinge of guilt stabbed through my heart and I sat under a black crystal archway. I'd lied when I'd told my mother I had been on my way to the palace. Father made us stay away from there.

I sighed deeply, my shoulders hunched and my muzzle nearly touching the grass. The sun began to set, which only made me even grouchier than I already was. The sound of approaching hoofsteps made me look up.

It was just another crystal pony being led to the cells. His eyes were downcast, but they flickered up from the ground briefly. When he saw me, he gasped and broke into a run. Once he was gone, I rolled my eyes, got up and began walking towards the house. I'd have to leave soon.

I still wasn't sure if I could this. But I also knew I didn't have a choice.


	2. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this chapter is from Luna's POV. I tried to keep her as in character as possible, but I'm not sure how well I did. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: I'll try to keep it tense and interesting. I've been known to make a lot of filler chapters in the middle though, but I'm trying to break that habit. *throws cake at you***

 **To the story!**

(Luna's P.O.V)

Black crystals dotted the landscape, catching the moonlight with mirror like surfaces and reflecting the stars. My hoofsteps resounded against the stone floor repetitively as I paced. My ear twitched as I blew my bangs out of my face. As I laid down on the balcony, I sighed.

 _We don't even know where King Sombra is going to strike next. How are we supposed to stop an attack we know nothing about?_

I sighed again and rubbed my face with a hoof. _Maybe if I go into somepony's dream and help them, I'll feel better._

I closed my eyes, concentrated and opened them again when a cold wind blew against my ear. I looked around, taking in the damp ground, the scraggly trees. Shadows loomed over a tiny filly as she ran away from a monster. I ran after her, hoping I could get to her before that creature did. The ground shook each time it took a step. It had long claws, matted fur and blood red eyes. It roared and charged toward the filly.

I jumped in front of her, turned it to crystal and looked at the filly over my shoulder. She was shaking and had her hooves over her eyes. I leaned down and patted her head. She looked up, gasped and hugged me. "Thank you Princess!"

I smiled slightly and returned the hug. "Why would a filly like you dream up a creature as horrid as that?"

She looked away, her face turning pink as she blushed. "Well... my sister got me at me, 'cuz I didn't do my chores and she always said there was a monster under my bed."

I opened my mouth, but the filly cut me off.

"She always makes sure it's gone before I go to sleep though. But she didn't do that this time because I didn't do my chores! I was so scared! I thought it was going to eat me!"

I laughed softly and rubbed the filly's head again. "Then perhaps, tomorrow, you should do your chores so that she'll fight it off before you sleep?"

The filly nodded furiously. "I will!"

I smiled at her. "Good."

The dark forest soon lit up with sunlight and little rabbits hopped out of their holes. One came over and nuzzled the filly's hoof. She laughed, got up and started chasing after the rabbit.

I stood up and left the dreamscape, feeling returning to my body. I stood up and began pacing again. There was a knock on the door and I looked at it, almost wishing it were a timber wolf or a manticore, something I could attack.

Another knock. I took a deep breath and called, "Come in."

A guard walked in, bowing at me then straightening up again. His pupils were slightly dilated, the pupils being slightly thinner slits than usual. "Princess Celestia would like a word with you."

I inhaled slowly then exhaled just as slowly. "Tell her that I shall be with her in just a moment."

He nodded, turned and walked out, the door closing forcefully behind him.

I shook my head. "Sister, if you wanted to talk to me, you could have just said so yourself. But fine, I shall play your games."

I went toward the door, my horn glowing blue as I pulled it open with my magic. I'd gone a step or two out of the room when I heard a scream from outside. I froze, then ran back to the balcony.

Timber wolves chased after something in the woods lining the other side of the gorge. A dark grey pony emerged from the shadows of the tree line and made for the bridge. A timber wolf leapt out of the trees and chased it away, back into the trees.

Another scream caused me to leap from the balcony. My wings snapped out and I flew towards the pony. The timber wolves had the pony backed against a tree. As I got closer, I realized it was a pegasus mare.

Her one good eye was wide with fear, the other was swollen shut. She tried to fly, but winced and decided to run for it instead. The wolves followed her, howling and chasing her farther from the castle, farther from any possible help.

She was limping. Small puddles of blood marked her route through the forest. Finally, the wolves had pushed her into a clearing below a cliff. The mare stopped, a quiet whimper escaped her lips and she turned to face the timber wolves.

She dove toward a wolf at the front of the pack. It tensed, but she turned at the last minute, planted her front hooves in the ground and kicked at its head with her back legs. The wolf yelped and backed away, scratching at its face. Then it lifted its head and growled, one of its eyes dimmer than the other.

The mare grit her pointed teeth, reared up and flayed her forelegs at it. It swiped at her, sending her crashing to the ground on top of her wing. She cried out, the landing obviously resulting in an injury.

I landed in front of her and blasted the timber wolves to splinters. One turned and ran, its tail between its legs. I considered going after it, but turned to the pegasus instead. Her eyes were closed, her purple mane was dirty and tangled. Scratches all over her body oozed blood, one of her wings was bent at an awkward, unnatural angle.

I crouched down to look at her. "Are you alright?" After the words left my mouth however, I wanted to kick myself. Of course she wasn't alright! She was covered in dirt and blood and looked close to death!

Despite all this, she grit her teeth and stood up, nodding. "I- I'm fine."

"Do you think you can make it to the castle?"

She nodded, her teeth still clenched. She opened one golden eye and looked at me. She blinked, gasped and bowed. "Princess Luna! I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you! Thank you for saving me from the timber wolves!"

"There's no time for bowing." I replied, somewhat firmer than I'd meant to. "You're hurt. We need to get you to the infirmary in the castle."

"Ok..." she followed me as I began the trip to the castle. I knew it'd be faster if we flew, but I also knew her wing was too damaged for her to fly. Somehow, despite her injuries, she managed to keep pace with my longer and continuously quickening strides.

After a few minutes, she began to slow and her legs were shaking. I stopped, watching her carefully. "Do you want me to carry you?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine!"

I continued to watch her, a mix of annoyance and amusement causing me to grit my teeth to make sure I didn't laugh or yell at her. Another more violent shake went through her and she collapsed. I lurched forward and checked her pulse, then sighed in relief. It was there. Weak and infrequent, but there all the same.

I levitated her off the ground and onto my back. Unfurling my wings, I took off, flying towards the castle as fast as I could. When I landed on the balcony, I could hear the shouts of guards in the hall. I trotted to the door, and pushed it open. "Guards!"

"Princess Luna!" they all yelled, running up to me. "Where were you? We were so worried!"

I levitated the pegasus off my back. "This pony has been fatally injured. Please take her to the infirmary."

The guards nodded, grabbed the mare and ran down the hall, dragging the unconscious mare with them. I grabbed a towel from one of the maids and went to my sisters room. "Sister. I'm sorry I couldn't arrive sooner. There was a pony being chased by timber wolves and I had to save her."

"I'm just grateful you're unharmed." Celestia replied, wrapping her wings around me briefly. Then she noticed the blood in my fur. "Luna, are you alright?!"

"It's not mine," I said, wiping some blood off my feathers. "It's from the pegasus. She was badly injured. The guards took her to the infirmary." I proceeded to tell my sister exactly what had happened and how the mare had tried to pretend she was fine.

"I hope she's alright." Tia said, sitting down. "It would be a shame if she died. Do you know why she was in the forest?"

I shook my head. "I didn't think it was a good time to ask."

My sister's lips curved into a frown. "I guess we'll just have wait and see if she wakes up. Then we can ask her. In any event, you should lower the moon and rest sister. You've certainly had an exciting night."

I was slightly startled by the sudden topic change, but brushed it off. I was rather tired and it was about for the sun to rise anyway. I got up and made my way to my room, lowering the moon. The sun began to peek out of the horizon and I yawned, laying down.

As the room got brighter, I closed my eyes, my thoughts on the pegasus. Where had she come from? What had she been doing in the forest?

I sighed and drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Once again, I tried my best with Luna and Celestia's characters. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Thank you. I don't really like doing chapters from cannon characters P.O.V's since they're a set personality that you have to get right, but I felt like these first couple chapters needed to be from Luna's P.O.V. *throws cookies at you***

 **To the story!**

(Luna's P.O.V)

It was days before the mare woke up. At first, neither my sister or I thought she was going to wake up. We kept getting told that her condition was too serious to make any assumptions, but I hoped she would make it. I wanted to know her story.

It was about a week and a half after I'd rescued the mare that someone pounded on my bedroom door. It the middle of the day and I didn't answer at first, because in my confusion about the mare, I hadn't slept well the days before.

Finally, I sat up and groaned, rubbing my eyes. "Come in!"

A guard rushed in. "Sorry to wake you Princess, but Princess Celestia wanted me to tell you immediately."

I sat up, sensing that I wouldn't be getting back to sleep anytime soon. "Yes?"

The guard took a step back. "The mare you saved.. she's awake."

My eyes widened. Suddenly, I felt more awake. I got to my hooves and followed the guard to the infirmary, silently willing him to walk faster the entire way. He stopped at the door and turned to me. "The nurses told me to tell you and Princess Celestia not stare."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Stare at what? Just how visible will the scars be?"

He looked uncomfortable, opening and closing his mouth without replying. I snorted and pushed past him, shoving the doors open. Tia was sitting on one side of the mare's bed. They both looked up as I entered and I stopped.

The mare was covered in bandages, one leg showing nothing but the white material and she had a rather large wound on her side, that I knew would become a scar. I could barely see her fur and her wing was held in place by more bandages. The swelling around her eye had gone done. She could actually open both eyes, which I thought was a good thing.

I walked to her bed and sat on the opposite of my sister. "Glad you could join us Luna." she said.

I bit back the snippish retort that popped into my head and smiled at her instead. "I'm afraid I was only just now roused from my slumbers sister."

"Brr.." the mare muttered. "And I thought _my_ sister and I were distant as of late."

I looked at her. "You have a sister?"

She nodded. "She's a unicorn."

"Why don't you tell us about yourself?" Tia said, smiling warmly at the mare. "We're curious about where you're from."

The mare got an uncomfortable look on her face, looked at the blanket covering her and fiddled with the hem of it. "I- I don't know..."

"Maybe you just start with your name?" I suggested, leaning forward slightly.

She sighed. "Eclipse."

"Eclipse?" I repeated, leaning away from her wondering if that would make her more comfortable.

"Well, technically it's 'Shadow Eclipse,' but I just go by Eclipse."

 _Shadow Eclipse? I suppose she has a dark look about her._

Eclipse finally looked up from the blanket. "My father is a unicorn, my mother is an earth pony. My sister is a unicorn and our father has always liked her better because of that."

"What kind of parent judges their children based on what type of pony they are?" I asked. "That's like telling them they're not good enough because they were born differently."

"Luna, let her talk." Tia said in a warning voice.

I bit my tongue, and smiled at Eclipse. "I'm sorry, please continue."

She looked at her hooves again. "I'm..." she stopped and sighed, hanging her head.

Tia and I leaned forward. "Go ahead." I said softly, trying to be encouraging.

"I'm from the Crystal Empire."

"WHAT?!" Tia and I said in unison.

Eclipse flinched. "Yup. I'm from the Crystal Empire."

We sat in shocked silence. "And how did you get in the Everfree forest?" I asked.

"I ran away." she replied. "My sister wanted me to go get help, because she's been sick and couldn't go herself. I told her I'd see if I could get here and talk to you."

"You ran all the way from the Crystal Empire?" Celestia asked.

"Well technically, I flew, but then those timber wolves attacked me and my wing..." she trailed off, casting an annoyed glance at her wing. "I hope it heals soon, but the nurse said even if it does heal, I might never fly again."

She looked so upset by the idea of never flying again that a flash of sorrow went through me. "Might I try something?"

She gave me a wary look. "Try what?"

I leaned forward and touched my horn to her wing. She flinched away and tensed. "I mean you no harm." I said softly.

I touched her wing again, my horn glowing bright blue. I could feel the cracks her wing and pushed my magic into them, making them bind together and mend. When it was done, I looked up.

Eclipse opened her eyes and looked at me, then at her wing. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

I smiled slightly. "Try flying."

After a confused look, she grabbed the bandages in her teeth and pulled them off. She stretched her wing out and flapped it slowly. Soon she was flying around the room. She landed on her bed, then bowed at me. "Thank you Princess!"

I chuckled. "Call me Luna."

Her head jerked up and she stared at me with wide eyes. "A-are you sure?"

I nodded. "Of course."

She opened her mouth to say something, but yawned instead. Her hoof flew up to cover her mouth and she smiled sheepishly at us. "Sorry, I'm not used to be awake around this time. I'm nocturnal."

This caught both mine and Celestia's attention. "You're nocturnal?" she repeated.

Eclipse nodded, still smiling nervously. "No offense Princess Celestia, but I've always the night more than the day."

I stared at her. "Really?" _Somepony actually appreciates my night?_

She nodded. "It's just that the night sky is so pretty and I like looking at the stars..."

 _You have no idea how happy you just made me._

"Well then perhaps the two of you should get to sleep." Tia said, smiling slightly. "Luna, you'll still have to raise the moon and I do believe you'll have somepony to talk to tonight."

Eclipse didn't need to be told twice. She mumbled a 'goodnight' to the two of us, laid down and was out cold.

We left the room quietly, trying not to wake her. "Well that was certainly an interesting conversation." Tia said as we went down the hallway.

I nodded in agreement. "Interesting indeed. She came all the way from the Crystal Empire just to help her sister. They must be extremely close."

"I don't imagine her coming all this way if they weren't."

"I don't know." I said slowly, a thought occurring to me. "Perhaps the rest of her family is dead. Perhaps she just wanted to save her sister because she didn't want to lose the last of her family."

"I'm sure if she had wanted to tell us more than she did, she would have. I think for now you get some sleep so you're not tired tonight."

"You're right sister." I went into my room and laid down. I closed the curtains, the light getting in my eyes. Soon, I was asleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry this chapter took a while. Lots of school work. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Yeah... that happened a little sooner than I was originally planning for it to. *throws pie at you***

 **ZapWBolt: Thank you so much! I feel like people don't compliment each other enough anymore. I'm so happy to hear you like my story. *throws cookies at you***

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

The first thought I had when I woke up was that I wasn't lying in my bed in the empire. I sat up, looking around wildly, trying to figure out where I was. I jumped off the bed, my breath hissing through my teeth as I landed awkwardly on my bad hoof and trotted rapidly out of the room.

My steps echoed on the stone floors and walls. My pupils dilated as the torches got sparser, my pace quickened. My mane fell in my eyes as I looked around, my heart pounding.

 _What am I doing here? Where am I?_

I took another step, meeting nothing but air and crashed down a set of stairs, a strangled cry rising from my throat. I laid at the bottom of the stairs, my eyes closed, pain forcing me to lay still. Hoofsteps came toward me and I flinched, curling into a ball to try to make myself as small as possible.

The hoofsteps stopped and I could feel somepony standing in front of me.

"Are you alright?"

I cracked one eye open to see a pair of dark blue hooves with blue shoes in front of me. I looked up and saw Princess Luna, her cyan eyes shining with concern.

Then I remembered what had happened and how I had ended up here and stood up as quickly as I could manage and bowed to her. "I'm fine Princess! I'm sorry I concerned you!"

She smiled at me kindly. "Did I not ask you to call me Luna?"

My eyes widened and I bowed again. "I'm sorry Prince- I mean Luna!"

She laughed softly. "I was beginning to think you were going to sleep through the night."

I looked at her in horror. "How long have I been asleep? I'm sorry I made you think I wouldn't be awake!"

She turned away from me and began walking away. "I just raised the moon. You haven't been asleep that long. Come."

I hurried after her, my leg still hurting from my fall but it wasn't as bad as before. "Do you go into everypony's dreams?"

She looked at me, an almost shocked look on her face. "Only those who allow me to. How did you know I can go into pony's dreams? I don't think I've ever been in yours."

"My father says you went into his dreams once. He said that he was disappointed when you no longer could."

She frowned. "I want to say I remember your father's dream, but I'm afraid I go into so many, and it's been many years since I have been able to enter the dreams of the crystal ponies."

I chuckled at her obvious discontent. "I take no offense. I hadn't expected you to remember one dream. You do go into the dreams of almost everypony in Equestria."

We continued chatting as we went down the hall and eventually got outside. Luna sat down, her horn glowing blue as she brought out the stars. I watched as the constellations I loved came out.

The sight of the stars however, reminded me of my things and I gasped. Luna looked at me in confusion. "Are you alright?"

"Did I have a bag with me when you saved me from those timber wolves?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. If you had, I would've grabbed it and brought it to you when you woke up."

I groaned and slumped forward, my muzzle hitting my hooves. "Ok..."

All was silent for a few minutes until I heard Luna shift her position. "How is your wing? Does it still hurt?"

I looked up at her. "No, but it won't make much of a difference."

She looked confused. "But I healed it. Why won't that make much of a difference?"

I sighed. "I didn't mean to offend you Princess. I just have never been a good flyer. I'm ok and my flying is average, but honestly, I'm surprised I made it here from the empire."

Luna didn't respond for a while, not even to correct me calling her 'Princess.' I swallowed, worried that I had offended her.

"Would you like me to give you a few lessons?" she asked finally.

I gaped at her. "You would... give me... flying lessons?"

She nodded. "Of course. I'm not sure what else we could do, since I'm not sure if you would want to hear my life story and I'm pretty sure you won't want to tell me yours."

I smiled awkwardly. "No, I don't think you'd want to hear my story."

Luna stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony. "Well then, let's get started."

I stood and followed her to the edge. After a minute, she jumped and I watched as she hovered above my head. I flew up to her, wobbling slightly. "So...?"

She smiled. "Follow my lead."

We spent the rest of the night doing basic flight maneuvers, then gradually moved on to more advanced ones.

After a while, I yawned and covered my mouth with a hoof. "Sorry."

Luna chuckled. "It is almost time for my sister to raise the sun. I guess it's time for us to be done for now."

We both landed, folding our wings. "Would you like me to walk back to the infirmary with you?" Luna asked as she lowered the moon.

I shook my head. "Thank you, but no. I can find my way."

"Alright. I'll see you tonight then."

I smiled at her. "Good... morning?"

She chuckled. "Sleep well Eclipse."

"You as well Luna." I turned and walked out of the room. When I got back to the infirmary, the nurses mobbed me, yelling about how they had been worried and couldn't believe I'd waited all night to come back when I'd fallen down the stairs.

I got into bed and looked out the window as the sun rose. The light hurt my eyes and I turned over on my side. _I hope the day goes quicker than usual._


	5. Chapter 4

**To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Does the friendship seem like it's developing too fast? The bag is important to her. *throws ice cream at you***

(Luna's P.O.V)

Before I could lay down, there was a knock at the door. I looked at it through narrowed eyes. "Who is it?"

The door swung open, revealing Celestia, her mane and tail flowing gracefully as she stepped inside. "Sister, may I have a word with you?"

I rubbed my eyes and nodded. "Of course sister."

She closed the door and sat in front of me. "Though I try not to judge ponies to quickly, I am afraid that I am unsure how I feel about Eclipse."

I raised an eyebrow at my sister. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, she said that she came all the way from the empire to help her sister, which I find chivalrous, but why would she come here? Why not go to Cloudsdale? She's a pegasus after all."

I frowned. "Sister, she said herself that she isn't a very good flyer. Perhaps Cloudsdale would've been too hard a flight for her."

"It's closer to the empire than our castle is. And when did she say she isn't a good flyer?"

"It was last night," I explained. "I'm giving her flying lessons."

This caused my sister to smile at me in an almost overly happy manner. "That's so generous of you, using your time to help another pony like that."

Her sugary sweet tone made me uneasy. I shifted to a more comfortable position and rubbed my eyes again and yawned. "Sister, as much as I love talking to you, I am tired and would very much like to go to bed."

"Well, then I'll leave you be. Sleep well Luna." she got up and left the room, the guard shutting the door behind her.

I waited a few minutes, to make sure she was gone, then went out onto my balcony. I looked around, making sure no other pony was around and jumped off, snapping my wings out to catch the breeze.

 _I've got to find that bag Eclipse mentioned. It seemed important to her._

I started by going along the route she'd taken trying to get away from the timber wolves. I checked the gorge, then the path. When I didn't find anything, I moved to the trees. Something shiny glittered and I swooped down, picking it out of the brambles.

I levitated the object in front of me. After a minute, I realized it was a necklace. One with a silver, crescent moon shaped charm on a silver chain. I slipped it around my neck behind my regalia for safekeeping and resumed my search.

I flew through the trees, branches snagging my fur, mane and tail. I blew strands of my mane out of my face, stopping and standing on a branch to catch my breath.

 _Where could that bag be? What if it's nowhere near here?_

I shook my head to banish my thoughts and took off again. The sun rose burned brighter as I moved between the trees. My eyes grew heavy and I yawned.

 _I need to find that bag._

After a few more minutes, I noticed shreds of fabric in the brambles. I flew faster and soon found a dark grey bag at the edge of the forest. I swooped down, picked it up and started back toward the castle.

I landed on my balcony, my eyelids heavier than ever. I yawned again, setting Eclipse's bag down by the window and laying down on my bed. My eyes slid shut.

It only seemed like a second went by before a guard was shaking me awake. "Princess Luna!" he said urgently.

I sat up, blinking rapidly to will myself awake. "Yes?"

"It's time for you to raise the moon, Princess."

"Mm... yes, just give me a moment."

"Of course Princess."

There was a timid knock at the door and the guard went to open it. He gestured for whoever was at the door to come in, turned and lead them over to me. He stepped aside to reveal Eclipse.

She looked at me, concern shining in her eyes. "Luna, are you ok? Your sister was worried about you because you didn't wake up on your own like you usually do."

I smiled at her. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I'm afraid stayed up a littler later than I should have."

The pegasus' eyes widened. "Why? Could you not sleep? You should've told me, I would've stayed up with you."

I shook my head. "No, I had something important to do." At those words, I levitated her bag away from the window and toward her.

If it were possible, her eyes got even wider and she gasped. "My bag. You found it! Is that why you were up late? You didn't have to go looking for it!"

"It was no trouble." I mumbled, standing up and going outside. Eclipse followed me, watching as I raised the moon. "It seemed like it was very important to you."

She opened the bag and began digging through it. A shocked gasp escaped her lips and she swallowed.

I looked at her. "Is something wrong? Is there something missing?"

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with horror. "There was a necklace. It- it had... there... it has a moon charm on it."

"Oh!" I used my magic to pull the necklace out from behind my regalia and over my head. "I'm sorry, I found it before I found your bag and put it on to make sure I wouldn't lose it."

She gaped at me for a long time, then jumped forward and hugged me. "Thank you Luna! Thank you for finding my bag."

I hugged her back, then put her necklace over her head when she let go. "Why is your bag so important to you?"

"Well, it has my journal and all my supplies in it..."

"Your journal?"

"Yeah, I keep a journal. It helps me stay calm."

I mused on that. "And what about your necklace?"

"My sister gave it to me."

"I see..."

Eclipse sighed.

I stared at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

She sent me a sorrowful look. "I just- I feel like you've done all these things for me. I mean, you fixed my wing, you found my bag and my necklace. I feel like I haven't done _anything_ for you and it just... bothers me."

I blinked and pulled her into yet another hug. "Now that's just preposterous. You've been staying up at night with me."

"I've only done that once." she argued.

"True, but you have no idea how much it means to me." I poked her. "Besides, real friends don't worry about paying each other back."

This caused the pegasus to look at me in surprise. "You... consider me a friend?"

I nodded. "The first one I've had in awhile. Why? Do you not consider us friends?"

She shook her head. "No, I just- I've never been good at making friends. The only one I've ever had is my sister and we haven't been seeing eye to eye lately."

We spent the rest of the night talking, the subject of failed friendships pushed to the back of our minds.


	6. Chapter 5

**ZapWBolt: Thank you! I' va noticed that I don't always develop characters as much or as well as I could so I'm happy I'm doing better with this one. *throws ice cream at you***

 **bluecatcinema: Okay, so it's just me then... Celestia has a right to be suspicious of Eclipse. She's definitely not all sunshine and rainbows. She has secrets and lies that she'd rather not reveal. *throws cupcakes at you***

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

It was days later. I had finally been allowed to leave the infirmary. Luna was helping me find an empty room in the castle, since it seemed like I'd be staying with them for awhile.

Finding one was proving to be harder than either of us had originally thought. While I liked all of them, none of them seemed right to Luna.

She frowned as we looked around yet another room.

It wasn't even the dirt or cobwebs piled in the corners that turned me off the rooms. I knew that could be taken care of easily.

"Luna, I don't understand what's wrong with these rooms." I said, stretching out one wing and brushing some dust off the windowsill. I didn't see anything wrong with them.

"What you think about it?" Luna asked, her voice making it clear that she was hoping I'd say something different this time.

"It seems nice."

She groaned. "You've said that about _all_ the rooms!"

I sent the dark blue alicorn a perplexed look. "Why are you getting so antsy about this? It's just a room."

"What's the point of staying somewhere if you don't like being there?"

"I suppose you're right... but I don't mind this room. Once it's cleaned up a bit, it should be fine."

Luna didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but didn't seem to want to argue either. She sighed. "Alright then. Let's start cleaning."

I shook my head. "I can manage. You have to go into somepony's dreams so your sister doesn't think you're neglecting your duties."

This earned me a withering glare from the alicorn. "Yes, _Celestia."_

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at my being compared to the white alicorn. "You're the one who said she talked to you about that. It's not my fault."

Grumbling, Luna laid down and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed and her body relaxed. I pulled a rag from my bag before setting it down in a corner and swiped it over the stone walls. I expected them to get dirty so I wasn't going to freak out, but I wanted to at least start out with the room clean.

I occasionally checked on Luna, making sure she was all right. She remained in her trance, her quiet breathing barely making her fur shift. I turned back to the window, wiping more dirt off the sill.

Intense pain shot through my head. I groaned, dropped the rag and began rubbing my head. My legs buckled, sending me into the wall. I pressed my hooves against my face, slowly sliding to the floor.

There was a voice yelling something, but it seemed oddly muffled. I couldn't tell what it was saying or who it was talking to.

Darkness filled my mind and I curled into a ball, covering my face with my hooves.

" _You know what you have to do."_

Black smoke swirled around the silhouette of a pony, who was trembling uncontrollably. The pony screamed and blood splashed against my hooves.

" _And you know what will happen if you fail."_

The smoke receded, revealing my sister's body. I wanted to be surprised, but wasn't. I'd been plagued by this recurring vision ever since I'd left the empire.

"Eclipse!"

The shout jarred me out of the vision and I flinched, fear curling down my spine like an icy chill. My vision was still dark, there was still an eerie howling in the back of my mind. I could feel my breathing getting heavier.

My hooves scraped against the floor. I felt hooves touch my side and lashed out, trying to get away from the threat. The shaking grew worse, I coughed.

There was another shout. I pressed my ears against my head, trying to block the noise. Maybe if it thought I didn't realize it was there, it would go away.

After a minute, I realized that was stupid and the exact opposite would happen. I chuckled lowly at my stupidity then blacked out. I was screwed now.


	7. Chapter 6

**I don't know how often I'm going to update this story. I'll try to keep updating every three or four days, but I can't promise anything because I have a tendency to lose motivation and stop writing a story altogether or get reallly bad writer's block and just stop caring about how long it is between updates. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Nothing... really bad happened. She's just getting a "friendly" reminder about what she has to do and why she's with the princesses. *throws cookie dough at you***

 **To the story!**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

I groaned and squeezed my eyes tighter shut than they already were. My head felt like I'd been thrown into a boulder multiple times while trying to fight a manticore. I sat up, rubbing my forehead with a hoof. My head was spinning now that I'd sat up, but I was tired of lying down.

The doors burst open, revealing a batpony guard with dark blue eyes. Said eyes widened and he removed his helmet, revealing a two tone blue mane and tail. He gaped at me.

I smiled sheepishly and waved at him. "Hello."

Without replying, he turned and ran out of the room. I scowled. "How rude."

I groaned again, flung the blanket off myself and got up. My hooves tingled as I stood, evidence enough that they'd been asleep. I leaned against the bed until the sensation went away, then took a step forward to make my way out the door until it burst open.

Luna was standing in the doorway, her eyes wide. I looked at her in confusion and waved. "Hi...?"

The dark blue alicorn lunged forward and enveloped me in a bone crushing hug. At first, I squirmed until the pressure wasn't centered on my wings or lungs then hugged her back.

After a few minutes, the hug ended, Luna sat down and looked at me. "We need to talk."

My stomach churned. In an irrational line of thought, I was convinced she had found me out and had been given the task of punishing me. I took a few deep breaths and looked at her. "Alright."

She sighed. "The nurse said that you're suffering from your injuries and sleep deprivation. If you haven't been sleeping well, why have you been staying up with me?"

I tapped my leg with a hoof. "Because. I imagine that being awake at night alone gets rather lonely and boring and I enjoy talking to you. I'd rather stay up and talk with you than sleep. Besides, I'm sure I've been asleep for a few days now."

"That is not the point here. I turn my back for one second and the next thing I know, you're on the ground shaking and whimpering!"

"I was whimpering?" I asked, slight embarrassment causing my eyes to widen and my cheeks to flush.

"Why is that what you take from the conversation?" The alicorn asked. "What did you see in that vision?"

"Oh.. nothing. It was nothing. Just a recurring nightmare really." I mumbled, refusing to look her in the eye.

Luna's cyan eyes bored into my golden ones. "Eclipse. This isn't a topic you lie to me about. I know dreams and I know visions. What you saw was a vision and from what I could tell, it was most likely sent by King Sombra."

I sighed. "He killed my sister."

The princess of the night was silent for a long time. Finally, she gently poked me. "Remember, it was just a vision. He's trying to scare you so you'll come back to him."

 _No he's not._

"Eclipse."

I looked back to Luna. "Yes?"

She looked uncomfortable. She wouldn't look at me straight on. "My sister has her doubts about you. She wonders why you did not go to Cloudsdale in search of help for your sister. Why come so far for a single pony?"

"I would die for my sister." I replied, slightly annoyed that Celestia would judge me before getting to know me. At least Luna talked to me and seemed interested in my life. "I came here for help because I _assumed_ that the two most powerful ponies in the land, the rulers, the ones who raise the sun and moon each day and night would be able to help my sister. Did I assume wrong? Did I overestimate your power?"

Luna stared at me, then began laughing. "My, you do have a short temper, don't you?"

I grit my teeth and tried to come up with a response that wouldn't sound suspicious or too rehearsed. "I'm _sorry_ that I don't find it enjoyable when a pony judges my actions without bothering to learn the reasoning behind them."

Luna seemed to understand that this was an upsetting topic because she stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "Tell me. I understand how your sister could be born a unicorn but, how is it that you are a pegasus if most crystal ponies are earth ponies and your father was a unicorn?"

"I've been asking myself that question for years." I replied.

We settled into a comfortable routine of asking each other questions, then listening to the responses no matter how long and developing new questions based upon previous responses.

For once though, I felt bad about lying.


	8. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I had no idea what was going to happen and then I just didn't feel like writing. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: No, but eclipse has lied about everything for her entire life, so for her it's just second nature. *throws cake at you***

 **To the story!**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

Luna had lowered the moon when the door burst open, Princess Celestia standing in the doorway. "Luna we have received information regarding the empire. I must talk with you!"

The white alicorn then turned her gaze on me. "I want you to hear this. You lived there, I want your opinion."

I took a step back. "O-ok..."

Her horn glowed gold and the sun rose, faster than usual. When it was done, she turned and walked swiftly out of the room. "Come."

Luna and I exchanged a confused, yet concerned look and followed her.

Celestia walked quickly, the clomping of her hooves echoing off the corridors walls. She led us to a room where two guards pushed the double doors open. We hurried in and the door was closed. The room became uncomfortably quiet as we all settled around a table.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence that made me want to hide under the table, Celestia cleared her throat. "We've received information that King Sombra has sent spies to all of his enemies domains."

The white alicorn sent me a pointed look and I gulped, sliding towards the floor. I noticed in that moment, how her mane and tail were always flowing gracefully around her with or without the presence of wind of some kind.

Luna scowled. "Sister, are you trying to suggest that Eclipse is a spy of King Sombra? Because I find it extremely hard to believe that you would make such an accusation without tangible proof."

"I just find it convenient that a couple weeks after she got here, we heard about this spy business." She continued to stare at me. "I also find it interesting that your whole story for being here is that you came to get help for your sister, yet you have yet to make any attempt to talk to either of us about helping her."

I opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off by Luna. "She can't exactly ask for help when she's passed out half the time, can she?"

I sank even further towards the floor, trying to hide from the two feuding ponies. Celestia had gotten so uncomfortably close to the truth that it made me want to scream.

"Eclipse."

I peeked over the edge of the table, half expecting a beam of light to hit me in the forehead. "Y-yes?"

Luna looked at me. "Would King Sombra send spies all over Equestria?"

I looked away from her for a moment. "W-well, most likely not. He'd be really worried that they wouldn't come back."

"He could always use ponies they love as leverage." Celestia said. "Ponies such as your sister, for instance."

I grit my teeth then sighed. "You know what? I think I'll be going to Cloudsdale after all." I got up. "Thank you for having me here for as long as you did. Goodbye."

"Eclipse!" Luna snapped. "Don't go."

I turned to her. "I'm afraid that I must. It's clear to me that I've overstayed my welcome. If there ever was one in the first place."

Her eyes conveyed more sorrow than words would ever be able to. I walked over and hugged her. "Goodbye my friend. I'm sorry."

I turned and walked out of the room.


	9. Chapter 8

**Sorry this chapter took so long. And sorry if it's not very good. I wanted to get it done, but have it be worth the read. And once again, I tried to get the characters personalities right, so I'm sorry if they're not. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Unfortunately, it doesn't get much better from here. *throws ice cream at you***

 **To the story!**

(Luna's P.O.V)

I glared at my sister, trying to hold back tears. "Why would you do that?"

Celestia looked at me and said nonchalantly, "Luna, I don't want you to get hurt. If there's even a chance that that pony is a spy, then we're going to lose the war with Sombra. She'll betray you Luna and I don't want that to happen."

"What makes you think she's a spy?" I snapped. "The fact that you got information that King Sombra has supposedly sent spies all over Equestria and a pony from the Crystal Empire arrived here just before that? That's an extremely big coincidence sister."

"What if she is a spy? What then? Are you so blinded by the fact that there's a pony who'll stay up and talk with you that you're going to leave yourself completely defenseless?"

I looked away from her. So maybe I had let down my guard and yes, I probably was only looking at this situation through clouded emotions, but I genuinely didn't believe that Eclipse was a spy.

"Innocent ponies don't run away Luna." Tia said quietly.

"She only left because she felt like you were attacking her!" I snapped, getting up and leaving the room. I moved through the halls, eventually ending up at the room Eclipse had said she would be okay with staying in.

I pushed the door open to reveal the dark grey pegasus adjusting her saddlebag. She looked up, her golden eyes finding mine and she sighed. "I already told you Luna, I'm not staying in a place where I'm accused of being a spy simply because of my place of birth."

I sighed as well, my resolve to convince her to stay ebbing away. "I understand that my friend, but I do wish you'd stay. My sister is merely jumping to conclusions. I'm sure if she spent a little time with you and got to know you, she'd realize there's no way you could be a spy."

Eclipse looked away from me, uneasiness flickering in her eyes. She grit her teeth and went back to fussing with her bag. Dread settled in the pit of my stomach and I gulped. "You're not a spy, right?"

She frowned at me, then laughed harshly. "Honestly Luna, you're starting to sound like her. I think I'll be on my way now."

I grit my teeth and slammed the door behind me. "No. I believe my sister is jumping to conclusions, but now I'm curious. You're not leaving until you tell me whether or not you're a spy Eclipse."

"Luna, this isn't a road you want to go down." The pegasus brushed strands of her mane out of her face. "Ponies who try to get to know me end up getting hurt or killed."

She turned and walked to the window. I grabbed her tail with my magic and dragged her back. This earned me a glare. "I told you, I'm not staying here. It's obvious that I'm no longer welcome."

"Eclipse, tell me whether or not you're a spy. Now."

She looked away, groaning and burying her face in her hooves. "Yes I am!"

I let go of her tail and gaped at her. "You are...?"

She nodded. "King Sombra wanted me to come here and infiltrate your defenses so I could learn your battle plans and he could get the upper hoof."

I sat down, still staring. "You really are a spy. My sister was right about you." Tears pricked my eyes again and I looked away from the pegasus. _How could I have been so stupid?_

"No, you don't understand. I'm not going to tell Sombra about your battle plans. Or anything for that matter."

"You're not?" I asked suspiciously, though I wanted her to be telling the truth.

Eclipse nodded. "I decided a long time before I actually got here that I wasn't going to. I wasn't lying when I said my sister is sick. I really am trying to get help for her."

"How do I know you're not lying to me right now?" I asked hoarsely.

She dug around in her bag, pulled out her journal, opened it and pushed it towards me. "I don't know if this will make you believe me, but I think it's worth trying."

I looked at the journal entry, suspicion still coursing through me.

 _I feel bad for lying to Luna. I don't think I've ever met a pony I hated lying to more, except perhaps Icy. I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this to save her, but... it's not enough anymore. I love my sister, but I can't keep lying like this._

 _I'll have to help her some other way._

 _I have to tell Luna. I have to. She'll probably hate me, but she needs to know. I have to tell her that I'm not going to betray her trust. I can't spy for him anymore._

 _They'll probably throw me in the dungeon when they find out. Or make me go back to the empire. Or maybe force me to stay there when they liberate it._

 _Luna just asked me what I'm writing. I can't tell her, not right now. It's almost time for her to lower the moon. My nerves feel like they're jumping out of my skin._

 _I'll tell her tomorrow._

When I looked up, the pegasus was biting her lip and looking at me desperately. "So...? Do you believe me?"

My mouth felt dry. My throat hurt. I swallowed and continued staring at her. _Do I?_

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Finally, I opened my eyes. "I do. But I don't forgive you for lying."

Eclipse smiled sadly at me anyway. "I wasn't expecting you to forgive me. Are you going to tell your sister?"

I grimaced as I imagined how that conversation would go. "Not now. I'm going to go to sleep. If you still wish to go, then I suggest you leave now. If not, I'm going to have to appoint a guard to watch you at all times."

The dark grey pony sighed. "Since I've told you, I might as well stay and take my punishment."

I opened the door and peered at the bat pony standing there. "Tell me, what is your name?"

He looked uncomfortable then cleared his throat. "Coldfire, Princess."

"Come here." He followed me back into the room and stood by the door, patiently awaiting his orders. I gestured to Eclipse, who seemed to be shocked to see him. "You are to guard this pony at all times. Do not let her out of your sight unless absolutely necessary."

He nodded. "Yes Princess."

I turned to Eclipse, who sighed and looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry Luna."

I swallowed. "Me too." I turned and walked out of the room, my heart heavy.


	10. Chapter 9

**This chapter took way longer than it should have. To the reviews!**

 **ZapWBolt: Thank you. I'm always worried about how I portray canon characters. I'm glad Eclipse's character is intriguing** **you, I don't like making characters that don't intrigue people. *throws brownies at you***

 **bluecatcinema: Sadly... if they do make up, it'll take a while. *throws doughnuts at you***

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

I sighed, sending Coldfire a glare. "Would you even care if I just fell over dead right now?"

He looked me in the eye before saying, "That would imply that there was any sort of emotional connection prior to the death. And so far, there hasn't been one."

I stood and walked over to the window. The batpony followed me, trying to stifle a yawn. "Do you ever sleep?" I snapped, turning slightly towards him.

Before he could reply, the door burst open, revealing Princess Celestia. I gulped and bowed to her. It had been days since I'd confessed to being a spy. Luna hadn't stopped by to talk to either Coldfire or I, not that I had expected her to.

"So I was right about you." She said, stopping in front of me.

I sighed, the regret I'd felt when I'd seen the pain filling Luna's eyes came back. "Y-yes Princess. I am a spy of King Sombra's."

"I still think they should throw you in the dungeon." Coldfire muttered.

I stood up and glared at him. "Well, that's not up to you, is it?"

Celestia was staring at him. "You look awful. Have you slept recently?"

He looked away from the two of us, his face slightly pink. He took a few steps back, stopping at the window.

"I'm taking that as a no." I said, turning back to the white alicorn. "Considering he's always awake when I am and I've woken up to him staring at me a few times."

"What do you expect me to do?" The batpony snapped, his eyes bloodshot. "That would be a perfect time for you to escape. Pretend to be asleep, wait until I fall asleep and then make your escape. It won't happen. And now, I must guard the princess against you."

Celestia smiled slightly. "While I appreciate your concern, but I _am_ an alicorn and this pony is a pegasus who has suffered many injuries as of late. I don't believe I'm in any danger around her. You may go."

Coldfire walked out of the room, grumbling the entire time. As the door closed, he threw me a disdainful look.

I rolled my eyes. "Stallions. They think they're right about everything."

The alicorn chuckled. "I suppose." She cleared her throat and gave me a grave look. "My sister tells me that even though you were sent here to spy for King Sombra, you never planned to tell him anything you learned here."

I nodded. "I swear Princess. I decided a while ago that I couldn't spy for him any longer. I love my sister and I would do anything to save her, but this just didn't feel right to me."

"So you're sister really is sick? You truly came all this way to save her?"

I nodded. "I understand if you don't believe me and I will accept any punishment you give me."

"Punishment?" Celestia almost sounded confused. "What is there to punish? Yes, you originally came here to spy on us and eventually cause our downfall, but it's perfectly clear to me that you no longer plan on doing so. You were honest when you told us that you were here to help your sister and I would not punish a pony for attempting to help their family."

I waited for her to continue, hoping there would be a catch, because this sounded too good to be true.

"I think the only left to be done is for me to apologize."

I gaped at her. "A-apologize...?"

She nodded. "I was concerned that you might be a spy, but I let that possibility cloud my judgement of you. I didn't even take the chance to get to know you. I let one assumption determine how I looked at you. And, I must admit, when my sister told me that you were a spy, I considered it a small victory."

A small laugh bubbled up in my chest. "I don't blame you Princess. I would have been weary too, if our roles had been switched. Of course, I'm naturally a paranoid pony, but still."

Celestia smiled and stood. "Come, we must go find my sister. Perhaps, she's had enough time and she'll want speak with you again."

My mouth went dry and my throat started to feel like it was being crushed. "Oh.. no, I- I don't think that's a good idea Princess."

Her calm, yet slightly spine-chilling look told me I didn't have a choice in this matter. I was going to talk to the princess of the night again, whether I wanted to or not.

I groaned, got up and followed the white alicorn out of the room. I still had yet to start thinking of it as my own. We went down the halls, torchlight throwing our shadows up in flickering dances. A chill went up my spine and I walked faster, now keeping pace with Celestia's much longer, yet relaxed strides.

We stopped at the door to Luna's room and I froze, my stomach churning. I groaned, turned and made to walk away, but was stopped by an outstretched hoof.

"Nervous?" the sun princess asked gently, smiling understandingly at me.

"I don't think she'll want to talk to me. This was a bad idea." I said quickly. My heart stopped as Celestia raised a hoof and knocked. I stared at her in horror. "Wh- how could- Why?"

Her smile returned. "The two of you can't just ignore each other. You have to talk through this."

I shook my head quickly. "No, I don't think-" the door opened, cutting me off.

Luna stood in the doorway, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "Yes sister?" then her eyes landed on me. "Oh… hello."

I gulped and waved nervously, staring at her. "Hehe. Hi."

The silence stretched on, becoming uncomfortable. Celestia seemed to sense that neither were going to say anything and started the conversation again. "Sister, I think it's time that the two of you talk."

Luna blinked. "Why would you think that? If I wanted to talk to her, I would've gone myself."

I gestured frantically at her. "See! I told you she wouldn't want to talk to me!"

"Sister please," the white alicorn said, once again holding out a hoof to stop me. "It's clear to me that this pony has no intention of betraying you. I understand why you're upset with her, but she's the one who told you that in the first place."

"And it's clear to me that she doesn't want to talk." Luna slammed her door.

I flinched, then slumped down. "Well. That went just splendid."


	11. Chapter 10

**I'm sorry if this story seems slow. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Honestly, I don't know how long it would take to forgive someone in this situation. *throws cake at you***

 **To the story!**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

"Hey."

I turned away from the window, half hoping that the pony trying to get my attention was Luna. A twinge of disappointment caused my shoulders to droop slightly. It wasn't her, it was Coldfire.

I could tell he was waiting for a response, so I swallowed and cleared my throat. "What?"

His eyes narrowed. "Come with me."

Dread formed in the pit of my stomach. "W-why?"

"Just hurry up!" He snapped, leading me out of the room. We went down the halls, his pace outstretching mine. This forced me to nearly run to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked, attempting to grab his shoulder.

"Shut up."

My ears flattened against my head and the corners of my mouth curled into a snarl. " _Excuse me?"_

Instead of answering, he pushed open a set of double doors. I tensed, expecting somepony to leap out at me. He led me further into the room, seeming perfectly at peace. He stopped near the wall, which I soon realized was lined with weapons. My eyes widened, my breath quickened and I shifted nervously from hoof to hoof. My instincts were screaming at me to run and I was starting to regret not doing so earlier.

The stallion pulled two wooden swords off the wall, turning to me. His eyes were cold, his face a mask of serenity. After a moment, he lifted one sword and tossed it. I caught it, confusion adding to the dread. "What is this for?"

Coldfire held his out to me in the normal fighting stance. "I'm getting bored, just watching you stare at the walls all night."

I blinked and held my weapon out as well. A smirk rose to my face and I tried not to laugh. "Well I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. In the Crystal Empire, if you don't progress in your training fast enough, you die."

"Well, if that's not motivation, I don't know what is."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Not at all." he replied, smirking at me. "Shall we begin?"

We sparred, trading insults back and forth. We continued in this fashion until Coldfire misstepped and ended up with my sword at his throat. "You know, you're lucky this isn't like how we train in the empire."

As I pulled my sword away, he grabbed his and took a step away from me. "What, do you train with real weapons there or something?"

I nodded. "What else would I have meant when I said if you didn't progress quickly enough, you would die?" I coughed, pain shooting through my side. "It's been too long since I've done this."

The stallion didn't seem impressed. "Look at this. Big bad Eclipse failing during training It's a good thing you're not part of the royal guard. You'd be torn to pieces within seconds."

"You wanna bet?" I growled before leaping at him. His eyes widened and he dodged, evidently not expecting the retaliation.

"At least I don't come from a place where death is more honorable than defending the innocent!" he said a few minutes later, after my fury had died down a bit.

"At least I don't stand around all day, doing nothing but watch ponies sleep!" I hissed back, my vision momentarily obscured as my mane fell in my eyes. I stumbled, attempting to get my mane out of my face. Suddenly, I felt the tip of a sword press against my throat and I backed up, my breath hitching even though I knew I wasn't actually in danger.

That damned condescending laugh of his rang out. "This is why all of us in the guard keep our manes short."

I grit my teeth, brushed my mane back into its proper place and glared at him. "Well, as you said," I pushed him away, holding my stupid branch of a practice sword out. "I'm not part of the royal guard. And if it consists of ponies such as you, I'm glad I'm not."

He blinked, his eyes filling with surprise. "Maybe you belong in the empire." His wings unfolded and his eyes narrowed at me. "You act just like that King of yours."

Distantly, I heard the door open behind, but decided not to risk looking to see who was coming in. Probably more members of the guard to back him up. "Do not compare me to him!" I shrieked, my wings unfolding, my pupils going to slits and my mane darkening. "I'm _nothing_ like him!"

Coldfire threw his sword at me. I dodged it, but heard somepony gasp. I finally turned to see who was at the door and my heart nearly stopped. Luna was staring at the sword as it sailed toward her. She looked exhausted, her eyes were bloodshot like the last time I'd seen her and there were dark bags under them.

Her horn was glowing softly with blue light, but the sword hadn't slowed down. I ran toward her, jumped and grabbed the sword. Landing, I crushed the sword under a hoof, a _snap_ echoing around the room.

I looked away from the sword to Coldfire. "You idiot!" I yelled at him. "I thought the royal guard was supposed to _protect_ innocent ponies! How is throwing swords around protecting them?"

But he wasn't listening to me. He was staring at Luna in horror. "I'm sorry Princess!" He bowed, trembling.

It occurred to me that I should probably bow too, but instead I turned to the alicorn. She was looking at Coldfire. "It's alright."

"But-"

Luna cut him off, holding up a hoof. "I can take care of myself. A sword -especially a wooden one- is nothing. Now," she turned to me. "I need to speak with you."

My heart started pounding and I wasn't sure if it was out of excitement or dread. "Alright."


	12. Chapter 11

**To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Yeah... he's not very good at thinking before he talks. Or acts or does anything really. He's gets better, eventually... *throws pie at you***

 **To the story!**

 **Chapter 11**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

Luna led me out into a garden and sat down, the moonlight shining through the translucent outline on her mane. Her fur looked even darker than usual, her eyes bored into me, sending chills up my spine. Still unsure of what was about to be said, I sat down far enough away so I'd be able to run if I needed to, but close enough so it wasn't obvious.

"Eclipse... I know you won't betray my sister or I." Luna refused to look at me now. She was staring at and fiddling with her hooves. "But… I'm not sure if I completely trust you again. The fact that you weren't lying about your sister makes me think that there may still be a chance for King Sombra to buy your loyalty."

It was then that I realized how badly finding out I was a spy had affected her image of me. I grit my teeth, my ears laid back against my head. I was trying hard not to cry, mainly because because I'd really ever hurt a pony I cared about enough to make them lose their trust in me. "I understand..."

The alicorn seemed to sense that I was upset and leaned forward. "Eclipse... it's not that I don't trust you."

"Except that you _don't_ trust me." I said, suddenly unable to look at her. I stared at the ground through blurry eyes instead. "Not that I blame you, but you don't." I rubbed the corner of my eye to keep the tears at bay. _Come on, don't cry. This isn't something to cry over. So she doesn't trust you anymore. Who would?_

At the same time, my reaction was partially caused by my irritation at once again being compared to King Sombra.

"Eclipse?"

I looked up at Luna, my teeth still grit. "Why is everypony comparing me to King Sombra today? I'm _nothing_ like him! I don't torture innocent ponies for fun! I don't hold my power over my own family and lock up ponies for disagreeing with me!"

Luna's eyes widened and she leaned back slightly. "I wasn't comparing you to him. All I was saying was that I'm not sure if he could still buy your loyalty or not."

"There's no way he could buy my loyalty." I growled, my eyes narrowing and my mane darkening. "I'll get my sister out of the empire, but I'm not going to betray you or go back to him. There's no reason for me to and even if there were, I wouldn't! I hate him!"

I got up and walked away from the princess of the night, my blood boiling. Though, I knew she hadn't been comparing me to King Sombra and hadn't meant to offend me, the fact that everypony here seemed to think I would go back to him made me want to scream.

Anger washed over me and a haze filled my vision. I started trembling, my teeth digging into my lip as my heartbeat pounded in my ears.

"Eclipse?"

I looked over my shoulder, intending to snarl at the intruder to leave me alone. Luna gasped when I turned and took a few steps back. Despite the fact that I still wanted to stab somepony, I grinned stupidly at her. "Well hello."

She continued staring at me. "W-what happened?"

I blinked. "Because my father is a unicorn, my appearance changes when I get angry."

"I can see that. Why are your eyes glowing?"

"I don't know, they've always done that." For the first time, I studied the black tint on my wings and the black markings on my hooves. "Give me a minute. It'll pass soon." After a minute, the haze in my vision went away and I yawned. I knew I had changed back because it always made me tired. "So.. what did you want to tell me?"

"Um... nevermind," Luna shook her head and sat down. "Tell me, how did you get your cutie mark?"

I looked at my flank, surprised that she would ask about it. Smiling slightly, I sat down as well, my shoulders popping as I did. "Well, honestly, I've always felt that my cutie mark had more to do with my personality than any special talent I might have."

"Why is that?"

"Well, the heart with the barbed wire around it -to me anyway- signifies how I keep my guard up and try not to let other ponies hurt me. The wings, I've always that assumed those had something to do with the fact that I like flying, despite the fact that I've never been particularly good at it."

"Why bat wings then?"

I shrugged. "No idea, but, when we were younger, my sister once tried to convince me that it meant I was part bat pony." The memory brought a small smile to my face. "I think the cutie mark as a whole, is a symbol of how I try to get away from my problems instead of facing them and how deep down, I'm a rather lonely pony."

After a minute of silence, I laughed softly and squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to look anywhere. "It's sad that I've put that much thought into my cutie mark, isn't it?" For some reason, tears pricked my eyes and I grit my teeth in an attempt to keep them from falling.

"Not at all." a new voice said softly.

Luna and I both looked up. Celestia stood behind her younger sister, her mane and tail flowing about her gracefully, like always. "May I sit with you?" she asked. We nodded and she sat down, an almost motherly smile pointed at us.

"Sister, I thought you would be asleep by now." Luna said, eventually breaking the awkward silence.

"I wanted to talk to the two of you. I'm sure I'll be fine even if I do miss a few hours of sleep."

We stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to say whatever it was that she had come out to say. Finally the white alicorn said something, "I'm glad to see you've made up."

I blinked and raised an eyebrow at her. "Who says we have? That really depends on whether or not Luna has forgiven me and I wouldn't blame her if she hasn't." I turned to the dark blue alicorn, suddenly curious and hopeful. "Have you forgiven me?"

She nodded. "I have."

"Why?"

She looked at the ground, slightly blushing. "Because if our roles were switched, I would want you to forgive me."

Despite the fact that this was probably one of the most generic reasons to forgive someone ever, tears welled up in my eyes and I lunged forward and hugged her. "Thank you."


	13. Chapter 12

**To the reviews!**

 **WyldClaw: Poor eclipse? That's nothing. It gets worse. *throws cake at you***

 **bluecatcinema: Damn, I was trying not to make their reconciliation too generic or sweet. *throws a popsicle at you***

 **Chapter 12**

(Luna's P.O.V)

"Sister, may I have a word with you?" I asked quietly, eyeing the double doors in front of us.

"Of course Luna." Celestia turned her head to me. "What is it?"

I gulped, suddenly finding it hard to look my sister in the eye. "There is something that has been bothering me. It's about Eclipse."

An almost disappointed look came over her face. "Luna, you said you had forgiven her."

"I have!" I said quickly. "But I've noticed that she reacts rather harshly when she is compared to King Sombra."

"Would you want to be compared to a pony like that?"

"Well no... but you didn't hear her when she started yelling when I said I was worried he could still buy her loyalty. I don't think I said anything that suggested I was comparing her to him, yet it angered her to the point that her appearance changed."

This caught my sister's attention. "Her appearance changed? How so?"

I blinked. That hadn't been what I wanted her to take away from the conversation at all. "Her mane turned black, these black markings appeared on her fur and hooves, the tips of her wings got this black tint and her eyes started glowing."

Tia frowned. "Usually it's only unicorns that go through changes such as that. And only when they're extremely good with magic. Are you sure that's what happened?"

My eyes narrowed at her. "You're questioning the only pony that was there other than Eclipse?"

"It's just odd sister. She's no unicorn, it's odd that such a thing would happen to a pegasus. Why is this so concerning?"

I shrugged. "It's just bothering me. As you said, she's certainly not a unicorn and she gave me the explanation that it happened because her father was a unicorn. However, I didn't think things like that were genetic."

Before my sister could reply, there came a timid knock at the door. "Come in." The doors opened, revealing Eclipse. She walked toward us, her gaze lowered. "You wanted to see me?"

We both nodded. "Eclipse, we think that this war has gone on for far too long. Since it's obvious that you don't want to spy for King Sombra anymore, we were wondering if you would help us defeat him."

Her head jerked up and she nodded furiously. "Of course!"

I smiled and gestured to the map on the table. "As you can see, we have a map of the empire, but we're out of plans for attack. None that we have come up with seem to result in less loss of life."

Eclipse studied the map for a few minutes, before looking back up at me. "Well, if you tried to set up your forces all around the empire, they'd be spread too thin." She tapped one edge of the empire with a hoof. "If you sent some of your guards in here, they could evacuate the citizens, that would keep them out of harm's way." She pointed to another part of the map. "The cells are here. If you were to attack around... noon, they'd be mostly empty. The guards could get most of the citizens out of the empire and the rest would be safe in the cells until they got out."

Celestia leaned forward. "You're sure of this?"

Eclipse nodded, a determined expression crossing her face. "I understand that you weren't asking about how to evacuate the citizens, but it'd be easier if they were out of the way. Now, to attack King Sombra... are you going to participate in the fighting itself?"

My sister and I exchanged a look, then nodded to each other. "We don't really have a choice at this point. This has to end."

The pegasus nodded. "Alright, then if the two of you and some of your guards- do you have a map of the castle?"

I pushed the map of the empire over and levitated the castle map in front of the mare, before setting it on the table. Her eyes narrowed at the image and she tapped what looked like it should be a window. "This window leads to the throne room and it's not very strong. Break through it and you'll have a clean shot at Sombra. You should be careful though, he'll try to use his magic on you and incapacitate you so he'll have the upper hoof."

The nagging feeling that Eclipse shouldn't know so much about King Sombra came back when she looked up and I saw complete and absolute hatred glittering in her eyes. Her pupils dilated. "He usually has about ten guards around him at all times. They're not very good at their job and I doubt they're very loyal, but they're extremely strong. He definitely chose brawn over brains."

"They'll be expecting you to use the window to escape so there'll guards out ready to ambush you." Eclipse dragged a hoof along the map, then tapped it a few times. "This corridor will give you a straight shot out of the castle once you've taken care of Sombra. You'll have to hit him pretty hard to take him out. I hope you at least have a plan for that part."

"We'll use the elements." Celestia said, her eyes locked on the map. "They should dispose of him."

Eclipse looked at me questioningly. "The elements? As in, the elements of harmony?"

I nodded. "You're right sister. They should work... but what if they don't?"

My sister blinked and sent me the same confused look. "Why would they fail?"

"Hypothetically speaking."

"Well then, hypothetically speaking, we'll arrive prepared just in case." she turned back to Eclipse. "Please, continue."

The grey pegasus faltered for a moment, then cleared her throat and tapped the map again. "I... can't think of anything else. You already know that all the streets lead right to the edge of the empire. I don't know what else I could tell you that I think you wouldn't already know."

Celestia stood and went to the door. "I'm going to go speak to the captain of the guard and tell him of these plans. They're certainly better than what we've come up with." She left, the door closing silently behind her.

"Luna may I ask you something?"

I turned back to the pegasus. "Of course. What is it?"

Eclipse fiddled with her hooves, looking anywhere but at me. "I- I know that I'm not part of the guard or anything... and that it's not safe for civilians to go to battle zones, but I was wondering if…" she stopped, seeming unable to get the last part of her sentence out.

I leaned forward. "If…?"

"I was wondering if I could go to the empire with you anyway, so I could make sure my sister was ok!" her eyes widened, she covered her mouth with her hooves and she looked away from me again. "I mean... if that's ok..."

I smiled at her as an idea formed in my mind. "Actually, I might have a solution to you not being part of the guard." I got up and gestured for the pegasus to follow me. She sprung to her hooves and hurried after me. We left the room and I led the pegasus to the guard's wing of the castle.

She looked around, her expression conveying her confusion. "What are we doing here?"

I knocked on the door, ignoring the pegasus' questioning looks. After a few minutes, the door slowly opened, revealing a now familiar dark grey bat pony. "Can I help you Princess?" Coldfire asked me.

"May we come in?" I asked, then I noticed his puzzled look. "Is there something wrong Coldfire?"

" _We...?"_ he repeated. "Who is we?"

That was when I realized Eclipse had shuffled behind me and was now blocked from his view. I stepped to the side, trying not to smirk at the two as Eclipse looked at me in what almost seemed like horror and Coldfire glared at her.

"May we come in?" I asked again, grabbing Eclipse's tail with my magic as she tried to run again.

Coldfire's mouth was turned down in a snarl, but he nodded and let us in. I moved into the room, still holding a now squirming Eclipse with my magic. I sat down, facing Coldfire and let the pegasus go. "Coldfire there something I must ask of you."

"Anything Princess. Ask and it shall be done."

I smirked, knowing he was about to hate saying that to me. "Well…" It only took me about two minutes to explain my idea to Coldfire. Unfortunately, it only took him about half that to come up with a million reasons why this was a bad idea.

"You can't be serious Princess." he said, probably for the fifth time since I'd explained myself to him.

"I'm completely serious Coldfire. I think Eclipse should be part of the guard."

He shook his head and said stubbornly, "She probably wouldn't even be good at it. Being a guard is a very serious job and I don't see why you even thought this would be ok. There's no way I'll bring a traitor into my regimen."

"She's not a traitor." I snapped. "Yes, she abandoned King Sombra, but that doesn't matter. I saw how the two of you were sparring a few days ago. Is that not enough proof of her capabilities for you?"

Coldfire sighed. "Princess, I don't think a mare could go through our training. It's brutal to say the least. Even if, by some miracle, she were to survive the training, the other guards would never accept having a mare in the regimen."

I rolled my eyes. "The training is not _that_ brutal. She'll be fine." I turned to the pony in question. "Eclipse, do you _want_ to be a part of the guard?"

She seemed unusually shy as she replied, "Well, if this is what you think would give me the ability to go to the empire... I suppose I should be doing something around here anyway."

"I refuse to have a traitorous mare in my regimen!" Coldfire snapped, stomping his hoof. He stood up, his shadow standing with him. A short sword embedded itself into the wall right above his head, the point slicing through his mane. "That was amazing! Perfect aim!"

"What are you talking about?" Eclipse asked, her eyes narrowed at the bat pony. "I missed. Your ear is bleeding by the way."

Coldfire reached up and touched his ear with a hoof. When he pulled it away to look at it, it came away spotted with blood. The stallion sent Eclipse a shocked look. "That was you when you _missed_ your target?"

"I told you," she replied. "In the Crystal Empire, you either progress in your training quickly or you die. There is no inbetween."

I raised an eyebrow at Coldfire. "You sure you don't want her to be in the guard?"

"Fine. She's in." he muttered. "Let's go and see to getting you some armor."

Eclipse and I stood, following the stallion to another room, where he pulled armor and different uniforms down and had Eclipse try them on. We spent the better part of almost two hours there.

"How about this one?" Coldfire asked, pulling a small set of armor off the wall. Eclipse took it, put it on and -after making few adjustments to the straps and making sure her wings were through the holes- shrugged. "It's ok."

"Wear that one for now, we can make some adjustments to it so it'll fit you better." Coldfire reached forward and flicked her bangs. "You'll need to cut your mane."

"No." Eclipse snapped, holding her mane protectively. "I know it sounds foalish, but I refuse to cut my mane. Why don't I just put it back?" To prove her point, she put her mane into a ponytail.

Coldfire sighed. "Fine, I don't care, just make sure it's out of your face. Especially out of your eyes, we saw what happened last time it got in your eyes. You were lucky I was only using a practice sword."

Eclipse rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I could've taken you even if my mane was in my eyes."

I chuckled and began maneuvering the pegasus towards the door. "Well, you two can continue this argument later. Thank you Coldfire, I'll make sure Eclipse doesn't skip training."

"I wouldn't skip training!" my hostage protested, just as Coldfire said, "If she skips training, she'll be taken out of the guard."

I pushed the pegasus out of the room and walked after her, in an attempt to keep her from attacking Coldfire. "Let's go."

As Coldfire closed the door and went down the hallway away from us, Eclipse stopped to stare out a window. I slowed, watching her curiously. Soon, she left the window and walked next to me again. "You know, you look very serious in that armor."

She began bouncing up and down as we walked, skipping and prancing back and forth, almost as if she were trying to disprove my statement. "Look at how shiny it is."

Despite the jumping pegasus' obvious annoyance, I smiled. "It's not that shiny. Would it help if I said that you look more intimidating than usual?"

She sent me a huge, uncharacteristically happy grin. "Not really, but thank you anyway."

I opened my mouth to reply, but a yawn came out instead. I covered my mouth with a hoof and smiled nervously. "Excuse me."

Eclipse seemed to change into a completely different pony. "You need to sleep."

I meant to argue with her, but yawned again. "Alright. I suppose, I am a bit tired."

"I'll watch over you." she said, tapping one hoof against the floor. "It's the least I can do."

I sighed, before going to my room and laying down. Eclipse followed me then stopped in the doorway. "Do you want me to stay out here?"

"Wherever you'd feel most comfortable." I replied, my eyelids drooping. She stationed herself by the door, her eyes shifting between the door and the window. "Goodnight Eclipse."

That earned me a small smile. "Goodnight Luna. Sleep well."


	14. Chapter 13

**I'm sorry this chapter took forever. I'm having so many motivational problems right now. Just so everyone actually reading this story knows, we're probably getting close to the end. To the reviews!**

 **ShugoYuuki123: Thank you! I'm afraid I don't really like how this chapter turned out though. *throws cake at you***

 **bluecatcinema: Those two don't enjoy anything if it includes the both of them. *throws cookies at you***

 **To the story!**

 **Chapter 13**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

"I give up on you." Coldfire said, setting his practice sword down and glaring at me. "I keep showing you how every other pony in the guard fights and yet, you don't do it the same way."

"How would fighting the same way as every other pony be efficient?" I asked, shifting my stance just enough to adjust my armor. "If you fight the exact same way then your enemy will just be able to figure out how to disarm you and the rest of the guard that much easier."

His eyes narrowed. "Who's captain here?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't really care about the fact that you're captain. I still don't think fighting the same way as every other pony is a good idea."

"Just because the princesses are taking your advice for the attack on the empire, does _not_ mean you get to act all high and mighty." Coldfire stomped his hoof. "The only reason you're even part of the guard is because the princess asked me to bring you in."

"Who says I even wanted to be part of the guard?" I snapped, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "I'm only doing this to save my sister!"

Coldfire groaned, rolled his eyes and put his practice sword away. "We're done for now. I'm not sure how much more of you I can put up with right now."

I made a point of staying silent, though I wanted nothing more than to snap out a retort and make him shut up. I bit the inside of my cheek while putting my weapon away and left without saying anything. I knew he just wanted a reaction and I wasn't planning on giving it to him. Making my way into the hallway, I grit my teeth as my face started to burn. _Stupid stallion, he thinks he knows everything. Why does he have to be so cocky? What makes him think he's so much better than the rest of us?_

I supposed if I was in a better mood, I might have considered that maybe he was just extremely insecure and put on an 'I'm-better-than-you' attitude to hide it, but that idea just made me even more cross. Still fuming, I walked out onto a balcony and sat down, gritting my teeth to keep the scream I was holding back from bursting out. I laid my ears back, the action usually having a strange calming effect on me. This time, however, it didn't work.

"I would ask if you're alright, but it's clear that you're not." a voice said above me.

I looked up, smiling slightly at the dark blue alicorn as she landed next to me. "It's... nothing, really."

Luna sat next to me, smiling gently. "Eclipse, you may be able to lie to my sister and every other pony you know, but I'm not so easily fooled. What's wrong?"

"It's really nothing," I replied. "I'm just a little peeved at Coldfire."

This caused a small smirk to grow on the alicorn's face. "Oh? Has he been taunting you again? He's only looking for a reaction, you know."

I sighed, anger still bubbling in my chest. "I know, he's just... so annoying. He acts like he's so much better than me and the rest of the regimen doesn't like me."

"I thought you didn't care what they thought of you."

"I don't! It's just that they treat me so differently, just because I'm a mare! They act like I'm so weak and that I can't handle the training, but I was the fastest one to solve the puzzle in our last exercise! Coldfire keeps getting annoyed because I'm not fighting like every other pony in the regimen, but fighting the exact same way is dumb!"

"Have you told Coldfire that you feel this way?"

"Of course I have, but does he listen? No! Why would he?"

Luna laughed softly. "Oh Eclipse. If only you knew."

This grabbed my attention faster than anything my sister had ever said would have. "If only I knew what? Are you implying something about Coldfire?"

"Just that he listens when you yell at him," she replied. "He's just too stubborn to accept the fact that you're right. I'm sure he'll stop pestering you."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at those words. "I doubt it."

This earned me another light laugh. "Well why don't we talk about something else then. Are you ready for the attack?"

I shrugged, honestly unsure of the answer. "I don't know. I really just want to get my sister out of the empire before King Sombra can hurt her. He may know I'm gone, but he's sadistic. He'll torture her just for fun if I don't stop him."

"If _we_ don't stop him." Luna corrected, placing a hoof on my shoulder. "You're not going to have to do this alone. We'll be right there with you."

I laughed bitterly. "I feel like I should be the one saying that to you. Members of the guard are supposed to protect you and Princess Celestia. Maybe fight, if it comes to that, though I don't see the citizens putting up a fight. I'm sure they'll come cheering to the rooftops when they see you."

The alicorn smiled slightly. "If you say so. Personally, I hope they'll be out of the empire and safe before they try to cheer and praise us for coming to help." Luna turned to me, her expression growing serious. "We're leaving for the empire at dawn. I meant to tell you immediately when I saw you, but it didn't seem like a good idea when I realized you were upset."

"At dawn?" I repeated as I tried to process the information. "I didn't think the attack would happen so soon."

"Well, you said it yourself, the longer we wait, the more time King Sombra has to torture and possibly kill more innocent ponies. My sister and I think we shouldn't waste any time."

I sighed and stood up, squaring my shoulders. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Luna stood as well, her eyes serious and cold. "Nothing, I suppose."

I licked my lips. "Time to go to war."


	15. Chapter 14

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I'm seriously losing motivation to write this story and it's been going a lot faster than I thought it would, so I'm probably going to end it soon. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: Somehow, based on her history, I just feel like she'd be really good at reading ponies and be able to tell what they were thinking pretty easily. *throws cookies at you***

 **SpiritFighter208: Of course. I wouldn't just stop writing the story and leave it with an ending like that. Not really even an ending at all. *throws cake at you***

 **To the story!**

 **Chapter 14**

(Luna's P.O.V)

"Coward." I muttered, glaring at the black crystals that had taken over the empire. I could plainly see guards running throughout the empire and gathering the citizens. Small groups of them were led out and away before the guards would return to find more. "Hiding in the palace like it was a tomb. I can't believe he isn't even out here leading the charge or fighting back or anything."

"He's always been like that." Eclipse said, trotting up beside me. Her eyes were locked on the palace, as if she were expecting King Sombra to come out despite her claim. "He'd rather send other ponies to die for him than fight." Coldfire came up behind her, grabbed her tail and began dragging her back to where the other members of the guard were. "Hey, I was talking to the princess, you know. That was rude."

His only reply was a muffled, "Please just shut up for two seconds!"

I tried to hold back a chuckle. "The two of you are making it very hard to be serious right now."

Celestia landed next to me, her armor gleaming despite the grey cloud cover. "The guards are in place. We only need a small window of attack. Unfortunately, our pegasi keep getting knocked out of the air before they can have much effect."

I turned my attention back to the empire. "We will have to be quick then." A glance over my shoulder told me that not only were the guards starting to get restless and shuffle their hooves in the snow, but also that Coldfire and Eclipse were arguing. _Again._ I sighed and shook my head, "Eclipse."

There was the sound of hooves crunching over the snow, then the pegasus was next to me. "Yes?"

"Where is your sister most likely to be?"

She blinked, before looking at her hooves. "Shouldn't I be focusing on fighting off any ponies who try to attack you or Princess Celestia?"

"Where is your sister most likely to be?" I asked again, in a firmer tone.

"Probably the palace." came the timid reply. I sighed again. _Of course._ "Go with Coldfire and the rest of the guard. Help them finish evacuating the citizens. Once you're done, you can come to the palace to look for your sister."

"But Princess, we were appointed to protect you and Princess Celestia!" a guard said behind us. I turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "And who appointed you to that post?" I gestured to Celestia. "My sister. I am appointing you to a new task. Go evacuate the remaining citizens."

"Luna…" a warning whisper came from my sister. "There are very few citizens left to evacuate. We can't just send the guards off on a pointless mission."

Eclipse began pushing Coldfire away from us. "And you tell me that I'm not good at following orders. You know how hypocritical you are, don't you?" There were a lot of complaints and disgruntled murmurs, but slowly the guards filed away and soon, we were alone. I turned back to the palace. "Let's finish this."

We took off and flew over the empire, before crashing through the stained glass window. I put up my shields, expecting an onslaught of crystals or attacks to rain down. Celestia and I each took hold of our elements and aimed at the dark grey unicorn as he stepped out from behind the throne, smiling smugly. I could feel the power of the elements as it built up, seeming to be too much to control. Beams of light exploded towards the unicorn and his eyes turned green just before being hit. The smoke cleared, revealing a dark scorch mark where the unicorn had been standing. _That was too easy._

Jagged, black crystals shot up from the ground, their tips sharp like a sword. King Sombra sat atop one near the throne, holding a scythe in his magic. His eyes glowed green as more black magic swirled around his horn and crystals exploded from the floor. Gritting my teeth, I flew up to him and threw another magical blast at him. He brought up a crystal as a shield, jumping over it and slashing at me with his scythe. A golden shield flew up in front of me, blocking his blow and throwing him back. I sent Celestia a grateful look as she flew up next to me and dove at Sombra, her eyes glowing white.

Sombra teleported to the ground, his horn glowing with purple and green magic. His eyes turned completely green and shadows began to form around the dark grey unicorn, almost seeming to drip off of him. He smiled, showing pointy fangs and raised his scythe as I flew towards him. There was a flash of silver, a whistling sound and suddenly, a sword was sticking out of Sombra's back. He grimaced, grunted and turned to face whoever had attacked him. I lowed to a stop and stared as a familiar dark grey pegasus stepped out of the shadows. Eclipse bared her pointed teeth at the unicorn. "Where is she?"

King Sombra sent her a quizzical look before bursting into maniacal laughter and using his magic to pull the sword out. He flung it to the side before answering, "Do you honestly believe that I will tell you where she is? Besides, it would not matter even if I were to tell you. It is already too late."

His horn lit up again and I flew over to Eclipse, landing in front of her. As he cast his spell, I put up my shields and looked over my shoulder at the pegasus. "What were you thinking? You can't just walk into the middle of a battle!"

"You're the one who told me to come here." she replied in a muffled voice as she pulled a dagger out of her armor. She moved the dagger from her mouth to her hoof and looked up at me. "Cold fire yelled at me and told me to leave, so I did."

I rolled my eyes before looking to King Sombra again. "Why am I not surprised? Do the two of you ever get along? Do you even know how to?"

Celestia sent a golden blast of magic towards the unicorn, her eyes turning white once again. He turned away from me, his horn glowing as he shot tendrils of darkness at her. I dropped my shields and shot a beam of light at him. Celestia crashed to the ground, a cater forming in the crystal around her. Black crystals shot up around her, trapping her. I attacked the unicorn again, but he deflected it, smiling smugly at me. "Insolent foals." His eyes flared bright green again and crystals shot up around me. I looked around before glaring at him. "Release us."

He chuckled, his eyes narrowing. "In due time Princess." He turned to Eclipse, who had been attempting to sneak up on him. She stopped, got in a fighting stance and glared at him. He chuckled again, his horn lighting up. Her eyes widened and she made to move, but he shot coils of dark magic at her. She dodged most of them, only to be hit in the wing by one. Grimacing, she lunged at him, her mane and tail slowly turning black.

Sombra manipulated the shadows to wrap around her, pinning her legs and wings to her sides. He smirked at her, "You should have known you could not defeat me. You have always been a weakling. You could not even save the sister that you care so much about." he brought a struggling Eclipse closer until they were nose to nose, then gestured to Celestia and I. "Tell me, do they know who you really are?"

Eclipse's eyes widened and she began struggling even harder. "Don't you dare. This has nothing to do with them."

"On the contrary my dear, it had everything to do with them. You seem to have made friends with them and friends tell each other _all_ their secrets, do they not?" He turned to us, smiling cruelly and holding a hoof out to me. "Tell me Princess, were you aware that this pony was sent to spy on you?"

"I was." I replied coldly. "And it may interest you to know that I have forgiven her because she was never planning on coming back to you."

"I cannot blame her for that. Who would? But were also aware that she is, in fact-"

"Be quiet!" Eclipse snapped at him, her eyes glowing white. "Nopony cares about your lies!"

He laughed again. "You have just told me everything I need to know. They do not know." His gaze returned to me. "Shall we inform them then? This pony you see before you is-"

"Don't!"

"My daughter."

A stunned silence filled the room. All the fight seemed to drain out of Eclipse as she sighed, closed her eyes and slumped forward, her ears laid back against her head. Sombra released her from his magic and she collapsed on the floor, obviously not even putting in the effort to remain standing.

 _I would tell him he's lying, but... with the way she reacted. There's no way he can be._

I slammed my hooves against the ground, breaking the crystals around into shards. Celestia followed suit and we flew up above the unicorn, blasting him with solar and lunar beams. His body disintegrated into shadow and disappeared into cracks in the floor with an echoing shout of rage. The palace rumbled, screams of terror floating up from outside. "I thought the guards evacuated the citizens."

"They did, but the civilians wouldn't listen once we told them you were going to get rid of King Sombra and ran back in. To them, your presence here meant that they would be fine if they stayed." Eclipse replied, laying her head on her hooves. "I'll stay here and make sure they don't die. You should go."

"Luna, she's right. Come." Celestia took off, flying out the broken window.

I moved to follow her, then turned to the pegasus on the floor. "Eclipse? Are you coming?"

She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "I- I don't think I should. I deserve whatever fate is about to befall the empire."

"Because you didn't tell me that your father is King Sombra? I would not have admitted that either."

"That's not the point!" she yelled, surging to her hooves. "I'm tired of having to lie to everypony I meet because of my family, my history. Just leave me here. I don't want to have to see that disappointed look anymore."

"What disappointed look?"

"The one you're giving me right now! I'm sick of disappointing everypony I care about and that's all I've ever done to you! Just go away so you don't have to be disappointed by me anymore."

I took hold of her with my magic and took off, flying through the window. "I'm not leaving you behind." I said firmly, before soaring over the empire and landing next to my sister at the edge of it. It was already becoming transparent, the inhabitants wandering around aimlessly, as if they no longer registered that they were in danger. It disappeared in a flash of bright light, the snow beating down on the fresh ground.

I sighed and we got ready to go back to the castle. Celestia and I took flight, flanked by guards who seemed like they'd rather be in bed sleeping. The trip back to the castle was long and slow, due to the multitude of injuries and breaks we had to take. Finally, a few days later, we landed in the castle courtyard. The guards walked in after checking to make sure Celestia and I would be fine. We stood there for a while, simply standing in silence. No words were needed to say how devastated we both were. She wrapped her wings around me briefly before following the guards inside. I took one last look at the sky then went inside.


	16. Chapter 15

**This is the last chapter. There may be an epilogue later on, but probably not. I don't know if I'm going to make a sequel to this story yet. To the reviews!**

 **bluecatcinema: I'm glad someone liked the last chapter. It didn't turn out nearly as long as I wanted it to be and the fight scene didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to either. *throws ice cream at you***

 **To the story!**

 **Chapter 15**

(Eclipse's P.O.V)

"I didn't tell you because I was hoping that by the time you found out, whatever he had planned for the empire would have already happened." I looked up from my hooves to the dark blue alicorn sitting in front of me.

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you know he would make the empire vanish along with him?"

I shook my head. "He never shared his plans with anyone, not even family. Although, I suppose I wouldn't have either. Who knows which pony might have betrayed him, if not me. Probably no other pony in my family would have. My sister was sick, my mother was always too afraid to go against him." I blinked, trying not to cry. "That's not what you asked though." My teeth tortured the inside of my cheek, scraping the flesh raw. Another bite and they broke skin, sending blood flowing around my mouth. I swallowed instead of spitting the dark red liquid out, like my mother had always made me do when I was younger. "I didn't tell you because I hoped that by the time you found out... I'd already have faced him and most likely died. I didn't tell you because I hate betraying ponies I care about and I've already done that to you by coming here to spy on you and I-" I stopped, my breath catching in my throat. "I didn't want anypony else to get hurt because of me."

"Eclipse," Luna started, her voice low and uncertain. "Nopony got hurt-"

"Of course other ponies got hurt!" I yelled, jumping to my hooves and glaring at her. "The entire empire vanished!"

"That was not your fault!" The alicorn yelled back. "You couldn't have known that King Sombra was going to curse it to disappear along with him!"

"It's still my fault!"

"How?"

I stopped, still trying as hard as I could to hold back tears. "What?"

Luna's eyes bored into my own. "How? How is it your fault that the empire vanished? There was no way you could have known what your father had planned, so how is it your fault?"

I opened my mouth to speak, then stopped my mind blank. _Crap. She's got me there._ "Well…"

She sat patiently, a triumphant smirk growing on her muzzle. She raised an eyebrow at me, still grinning. "Well?"

I sighed. "Alright fine, you've got me. I suppose it wasn't technically my fault." I kicked at the ground. "I just wish I'd been able to save my family."

Luna wrapped a wing around me briefly before pulling away and standing front of me again. "That's an understandable regret, but that still does not justify you blaming yourself for the empire's fate." Silence followed her statement and after a few minutes, she touched my shoulder. "Come, my sister has come up with an idea and would like you to participate."

I looked up, my mind spinning. "What?" At the alicorns gesture, I followed her out of the room, through the castle and to a room I hadn't been in before. It looked a throne room, banners depicting both princesses lining the walls. Princess Celestia stood on a raised dais, holding a pink crystal in her magic as she watched as approach. As we got closer, she came off the dais, a sad, yet sympathetic smile on her face.

The two alicorns stopped a short distance from each other and I froze, staring at the ground while shuffling my hooves. "Eclipse?" I looked up at the alicorns, chills going up my spine. "Yes?"

Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry, this must all be hard for you."

I blinked, uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. "I've been through worse."

The white alicorn held the crystal closer to me. "Well, as I said, we have a spell that will allow us to put our collective memories of the Crystal Empire into this crystal. That way, if it ever returns, we can teach ponies about it and make sure it isn't forgotten."

"And… what does this have to do with me?" I asked, eyeing the crystal warily, hoping it wouldn't turn black and magically teleport my father here.

This earned me another sigh from the alicorn. "We would like you to put your memories into the crystal along with our own. Even our knowledge is minimal and you lived there. You know it better than us."

"Oh…" I looked at the ground, embarrassed that I hadn't realized why they wanted my memories. "Alright. If you believe that it will help, then I'll do my best."

Both princesses smiled at me and beckoned me closer. I took a step towards the crystal, still unsure if it were safe. "Will it hurt?" I asked, my voice monotone and to be honest, I didn't care if this hurt. At least I'd feel something.

"It shouldn't." Came the gentle reply. "This spell is only designed to draw out memories and put them into an object. You'll still have them of course, but now we'll be able to view them as if they were our own."

"What do I do?"

Celestia placed one hoof on my shoulder, the other on the crystal and her horn lit up. I watched as memories flickered in the crystal, my heart growing heavier as old ones shone. There was one of my sister and I as fillies fighting over a toy. That had been the first time my appearance had changed because of my emotions. Another flickered, showing my mother wrapping a wound on my leg up. It wasn't until she picked me up and blew a raspberry into my belly fur that I realized the memory was from one of my early flying lessons. Another memory passed into the crystal, depicting yet another fight between my sister and I as fillies. Yet, this one had been different. During this one, purple magic had flowed from my eyes, much like my fathers. I'd nearly killed my sister that day. My mother had been horrified, but Icy hadn't remembered it when she woke up. I'd never told her what had happened. Another memory showed a small colt run by his parents as he played and they hugged, nuzzling each other's muzzles. I'd watched that family from my window for days. _I have to remember other things. More important things._ Memories of the traditions of the empire and a map of it began flowing into the crystal. The flag was briefly shown followed by shadows and ponies in chains.

I groaned, momentarily losing my balance and falling forward. The impact I'd been expecting never came. I opened my eyes and found myself wrapped in light blue magic. Both Luna and Celestia were staring at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

I waved them off, still floating and squirming. "I'm fine." I cast a glance at the crystal, which was glowing but not very brightly. "It's not enough, is it?"

They exchanged an uncomfortable look, then shook their heads. I forced myself to my hooves and took a few deep breaths, "Alright, let's do it again."

"No." I turned to Luna, confused. "What?"

She took a step toward me. "I said no. You nearly passed out the first time. Celestia and I will provide the rest of the memories."

"But-"

"No," Celestia placed a hoof on my shoulder. "Luna is right. You have given enough."

The two alicorns touched their horns to the crystal and I watched as memories of trade plans and fairs flickered within the gem. After a few minutes, the two ponies lifted their heads and Celestia placed the crystal under a glass cover by her throne.

"How long will the memories remain there?" I asked quietly, doubting they'd stay in the crystal forever.

"They may fade over time, but if the empire returns, we will at least be able to show somepony who can save it a map." Celestia replied. "I'm sorry we were unable to save the empire."

I shook my head. "It wasn't your fault. I'm sure there was more we all could have done." I turned away from the princesses. "Excuse me." I left the room, my hooves falling heavily upon the stone floors. Moonlight filtered in through the windows, the stars creating glowing pinpricks in the sky. My hoofsteps echoed around the halls as I walked, not really paying attention to where I was going or who might be near me.

"Eclipse." I looked up, my gaze falling on a familiar dark blue alicorn. Luna stepped forward, her eyes shining with concern. "I know you must be upset and that you may not want to talk."

I regarded her silently, wondering how much energy it would take to answer her and if it was worth it. "I lost my entire family."

"I know. I can't imagine how much it must hurt and I won't pretend to understand how you feel, but I want you to know that you can talk to me."

I scoffed, turning away from the princess of the night. "No offense, but I'm not sure you'd understand how this feels. Knowing there's darkness in you that you want to let take control, but not wanting to hurt the ponies you care about. That's exhausting."

She moved forward and wrapped one of her forelegs around me. I smiled slightly, hugging the alicorn back as she nodded gravelly. "Don't worry my friend, we all have demons we have to face."

 **END**


	17. update

**A lot of people have asked about whether or not I was going to do a sequel. While, it's not 100% guaranteed, but I will definitely try to write a sequel. I was thinking about doing a sequel that follows Luna's descent/ transformation into Nightmare Moon and how Eclipse would react to her being banished. Unfortunately, I don't have any ideas for the title or a plot. Or at least, none that I like so far.**

 **Oshawottlover: Luna is my favorite princess too. *throws cake at you***

 **Bluecatcinema: Thank you. I wanted to end the story in a way that had to do with memories and it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but I guess it was pretty good. *throws cookies at you* And thank you for staying throughout the entire story and reviewing on every chapter.**

 **ShugoYuuki123: Eclipse not being able to save her family is a plot device that I plan to use if the sequel to this story actually happens. *throws ice cream at you***


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